PERMITS ISSUED TO STORE TEXAS WIND ENERGY IN GIANT UNDERGROUND SALT CAVE, TOO Meanwhile, in Tennessee Colony: As Fairway works on retrofitting some of those giant salt caves south of the Astrodome to store crude oil, a company called APEX says it has the permits all lined up to outfit a cavern in Anderson County’s Bethel Salt Dome to store some of Texas’s excessive wind energy. The plan, if the company gets the rest of the necessary funding, is to buy excess electricity from the grid to run an air compressor, pumping air into a salt chamber as deep as the Empire State Building is tall. That compressed air (with a boost from some natural gas combustion) would then be used to turn a turbine when needed. Energy analyst Paul Denham tells David Fehling that only a few spots in the US along the Gulf Coast have the kind of salt dome geology being put to work by the Bethel project (and by the only other major compressed air plants in the world, currently operating in Germany and Alabama); a few other companies, however, are now working on taking underground caverns out of the equation. [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
Sign up for the Newsletter
A BRIEF HISTORY OF HOUSTON’S FUTURE HISTORIC PRESERVATION CULTURE 
“Houston seems younger than it is,” writes Barry Moore today: “Few would guess that our founding by the Allen Brothers was within a few years of Chicago’s. Why does Chicago seem so much older? The answer is complex.” While the 70-year-old annual conference of the National Trust for Historic Preservation kicks off today in Houston for the first time, Moore charts decades of change in Houston’s laws, tax rules, and attitudes related to letting historic structures and places stick around. And Moore claims that these days, Houston’s out-with-the-old reputation “is itself a relic. Houston has turned a corner. After half a century of organizing, we now have a preservation culture and laws to protect parts of the built environment. This may be hard to believe, but I will argue that no other city in the country has such an opportunity to become ground zero for the future of the preservation movement.” [OffCite; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Astrodome: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Today Swamplot has a new sponsor: Bluebonnet Living, a boutique construction and remodeling company begun by a Swamplot reader. Thanks for the support!
Bluebonnet Living offers a full range of construction services, including carpentry, remodeling, landscaping, and handyman services. Bluebonnet Living is based in Houston and specializes in small- to mid-sized projects that require multiple trades (carpentry, electrical, plumbing, landscaping, etc.), but the firm can do many other kinds of projects as well. The company prides itself on working hard to find solutions to clients’ problems.
Bluebonnet Living says it guarantees high-quality work and materials for each and every project. The company says it:
- Uses sustainably-sourced building products whenever possible
- Legally disposes of construction debris
- Follows building codes and best practices
- Sees no job as too small
- Guarantees its work and strives to immediately resolve any issues to make its customers happy
The owner is a native Texan; the bluebonnet is our state flower. Bluebonnet Living wants to help Texans enjoy a higher quality of life through the building projects it offers. Check out the Bluebonnet Living website to see samples of the company’s work.
Here’s a great way for local service businesses to reach real-estate-focused readers: Become a Swamplot sponsor.
Sponsor of the Day
A rep from Citiscape tells Swamplot that the company will be starting up presales for 11 multi-million-dollar condo units in the 7-story midrise it’s planning for 2240 Mimosa Dr. The building would replace the 1965 apartment complex currently occupying the space (half a block east from the corner with Revere St. where that other condo midrise project got tangled in a protracted variance request fight last fall). Citiscape’s chief designer says the project is designed to eventually “fade into the landscape” with the help of some up-the-wall greenery on the facade:
Camouflage Near Avalon
- Riverway Properties To Redevelop Former Berger Iron Works Site Near the Heights into Mixed-Use Property Called The Ironworks [HBJ]
- Kenneth Cole To Shutter All U.S. Outlet Stores Including 3 in Houston ]HBJ]
- Ronnie Killen’s First Houston-Proper Restaurant Killen’s STQ Slated To Open Nov. 28 in Former Bramble Space [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Food Truck Chi’Lantro BBQ Plans Return to Houston with Brick-and-Mortar After ‘Shark Tank’ Investment [HBJ]
- Bryan Caswell Departs from Dual Italian Restaurant Concepts Kristalla and Osso at 500 Crawford [Culturemap]
- Indoor Cycling Chain Full Psycle Close To Signing Leases in The Woodlands and Town and Country Area [HBJ]
- Construction Starting Today on $815M State Highway 288 Toll Lane Project [Houston Public Media]
- National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, in Houston for First Time in 70 Years, Starts Today [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Ed Wilson’s Embattled Bird Sculpture ‘Soaring in the Clouds’ Debuts at Convention Center [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
Photo of The Lights Festival: thranth via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Off the court and into the dumpster.
- 6250 Woods Bridge Way [HAR]
SPURNED BY NORWEGIAN, PRINCESS, BAYPORT CRUISE TERMINAL TURNS TO CHILLIN’ FRUIT, FIXING UP CARS 
Bereft of tourist companionship after little more than a pair of brief affairs with Norwegian and Princess cruise lines (both of which ended abruptly in mid-2015), the $108-million Bayport Cruise Terminal is picking up and moving on next month, when the first shipment of automobiles for Auto Warehousing Inc. is scheduled to make landing. Andrea Rumbaugh writes that the company has a 3-year lease to use the former cruise facility to make after-market mods before sending cars on their way to dealerships; port commission chairwoman Janiece Longoria also tells Rumbaugh that port-owned areas near the terminal are being outfitted with more chilled storage space, possibly paving the way for the failed Ship Channel vacation destination to make a comeback as a fruit-and-veggie hub. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Port of Houston
Down at the Old First Ward corner of Goliad and Crockett — catty-corner from where New Hope Missionary Baptist Church made its last stand in August — another crop of townhomes is moving off on the digital drawing board and toward construction phases, according to a rep from Titan Homes. (Bypassing opportunities for thematic streetname tie-ins, the company appears to have steered away from the Alamo-nouveau aesthetic deployed in its project on the newly-thinned edge of Little Thicket Park in Shady Acres.)
The 6 members shown above of 8 home set (together called Las Ventanas by the developer) face Goliad St.; newly drawn lot lines on file with the city suggest the 2 other houses will face Crockett. A rendering from one of the 4th floor terraces facing toward downtown suggests a view unobstructed by all the other townhomes cropping up in the area:
Winds of Change in First Ward
Today Swamplot’s sponsor is personal coach Cricket Buchler. Thanks for supporting Swamplot, Cricket!
Searching for a creative, personalized holiday gift for friends, family members, or employees? Consider the gift of a fun and inspiring 90-minute personal coaching session with coach Cricket Buchler. An experienced corporate trainer who has helped top executives, Hollywood celebrities, and employees in a range of industries address personal and professional development issues, Cricket also works one-on-one, guiding clients to explore and unlock possibilities and design plans to realize change, and coaching them through their journey toward an intentional life.
A coaching session can be a great gift for anyone on your list who is looking to take the next step forward in life, work, or relationships, but feels a bit stuck as to what next steps might look like. You’ll find a sampling of testimonials from Cricket’s clients on her website, along with more information about coaching sessions.
Your gift to your own business: Becoming a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.
Sponsor of the Day
The brick building at Travis and Winbern streets, wedged between the Breakfast Klub to the south and Continental Club to the east, is occupied these days by Winbern Mess Hall — a joint truck-to-brick-and-mortar project involving both Korean-Mexican fusion truck Oh My Gogi! and Asian-fusion hotdog truck Happy Endings. The fused fusion truckers quietly opened shop in October, with plans for a grander opening tentatively planned for mid-December. A rep tells Swamplot that items from both trucks are on the menu, and a bar is also in the works.
Winbern has moved into the spot in the wake of the sudden May flight of Sparrow Bar + Cookshop, another animal-mascotted endeavor of Beaver’s chef Monica Pope. The red banner by the tucked-away front door on Travis (above) has been updated to reflect the switchover, though the new occupants say they haven’t changed too much inside the place. Here’s a shot of the spot (from back when it still played host to the avian theme):
Winbern Fusion Fusion Joint
Update, November 22: The finalized county precinct data has been incorporated into the map above; a layer showing voter turnout has been added as well.
With all 1,012 precincts shaded in by civic data whiz Jeff Reichman, the interactive map above of last week’s election results shows both stark splits and gray areas in blue-swung Harris County, which gave only 41.8 percent of its vote to Wrestlemania hall-of-famer and historically litigious president-elect Donald Trump. The red-to-blue shading shows who won by what percentage, with results ranging from count-’em-on-one-hand margins to total blowouts for one major candidate or the other. You can click on each precinct to see the breakdown of votes and turnout (though Stein, Johnson, and McMullin voters will have to look elsewhere for the details on those candidates’ spreads).
On the east side of town, the red-blue divide runs roughly along the track of Beltway 8; the border of that central dark blue zone stretches north to include Greenspoint and then runs east along FM 1960 to 290. The split gets murkier on the west side of the Inner and Outer Loops, with many precincts showing much closer margins. More noticeably red areas inside Beltway 8 show up near Memorial, River Oaks, Bellaire, and Shepherd Park Plaza — plus spots like tiny Precinct 0830 on S. Main, where Trump took a total of 3 votes to Clinton’s 1.
- Previously on Swamplot:Â Where Houston’s Trump and Sanders Supporters Are Clustered, and Other Election Data Mapping Fun
Map of presidential election results by precinct: Jeff Reichman
Post-Election Breakdown
- University of Houston System Completes Purchase of 46 Acres for New Mall Ring-Road Campus in Katy [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Transwestern: Medical Center, Montrose, Downtown Have Most Apartments Under Construction in Houston [HBJ]
- Houston Has Fifth-Largest Number of Wealthy Apartment Renters Nationwide, Finds RENTCafé [HBJ]
- Houston the No. 1 ‘Sell’ Market in the U.S. for Industrial Investors, According to Tex-X LLC [HBJ]
- Affordable Housing Property Cleme Manor Apartments in the Fifth Ward To Get $41M Renovation [Houston Chronicle]
- Ruggles Green Close To Signing a Lease at Vintage Marketplace [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
- Raising Cane’s Opening 23rd Houston-Area Location in Kingwood Tomorrow [Houston Chronicle]
- Austin’s Ramen Tatsu-Ya To Open First Houston Location in Montrose [HBJ]
- Houston Economist Bill Gilmer Predicts 2017 Will Be Slow But Still Better Than 2016 [Realty News Report]
- These Charts Show Poverty’s Startling Spread Across Houston [The Urban Edge]
- Texas Nationalist Movement Still Working with State Legislators To Draft Bill for Secession [Dallas News]
Photo of 8th Wonder: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Some places build slowly, but can be torn down with incredible swiftness.
Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day; Swamplot will be off, contemplating those who have sacrificed for their country and how to honor them. Here’s hoping for a peaceful weekend for all in the wake of a long, hard season for our nation; we’ll be back on the regular beat on Monday morning.
Photo of veteran’s memorial at Sugar Land Memorial Park: Kathy Hradecky
Veteran’s Day
